Passing of the Torch
by stormnml
Summary: It was supposed to be secluded. Sure, it was not completely safe, but that was what made it so quiet. A rock-slide, an injured kid, and a massive headache later, Gingka's not really sure what the heck he was thinking. All he knows is that he's not sure he's going to make it out of this alive.
1. Chapter 1

**My first attempt in a long time at something serious! Yay!**

 **In all seriousness, this was supposed to be a part of Blink and You'll Miss It's second chapter detailing year two, but it didn't end up working out that way. The plot bunny basically got away from me on this one and began taking up far too much of the chapter. I suddenly realized that this was becoming its own little monster and decided to run with it. Full force. Like, just sprinting the 100m here.**

 **Okay, enough with the running analogies and craziness and on with the story.**

* * *

He paused when Ifrit began burning a hole in his holster.

It was not exactly a sharp burn per say; it felt much more like he had placed his hand on a piece of warm glass and it was slowly becoming too hot for his skin. Gingka Hagane knew this feeling well - Pegasus used it often when it wanted to tell him something. Or tell him off. Either or, really.

With a quick scan of the area, he reached to move his cloak - purely a disguise to keep the fangirls away and totally not because he thought it was cool - off of his holster. Just as he had expected, the new bey was glowing a soft orange. He pulled it out and eyed it carefully.

"Just what is it that you're trying to tell me, Ifrit?" he wondered. The only things in the canyon were rocks and rubble. No one was supposed to come out this far because the Nemesis Crisis had made the land unstable. Massive sinkholes and frequent chances of rock slides kept the local population to zero. Based on that fact alone, Ifrit had nothing human to which it could react - other than him, but he already had a partner in Pegasus.

Somewhere far off to his left, towards one of the canyon walls, there was a shout. Without thinking, Gingka dropped Ifrit back into his holster and sprinted toward the sound, his mind worrying over the possibilities: an injured traveler, someone dying of heatstroke, maybe even someone tripping over a rock. _But no one should have been here._ He had come for that reason alone.

He felt very foolish when he came across a group of kids _beyblading_ of all things. Someone in the battle had obviously gotten a little too excited and probably shouted in support of his beyblade. While under normal circumstances he would have smiled and let it be, this was still a dangerous area.

"Hey," he called out in his most stern tones; a few heads swiveled to acknowledge his voice, "you kids need to leave! It's too dangerous!"

One of the boys, a short kid with bright pink hair, scowled in his direction. "Why should I listen to you? You're not my dad."

Gingka approached the boys with what he hoped was an air of sternness, even channeling Madoka, he was not really sure he was intimidating enough. "I may not be your dad," he answered pointedly, "but I'm sure he told you not to come out here." The boy recoiled; his beyblade hit his foot and came to a stop.

"He's got a point, Lee. Maybe we should head back to the city," one of the other boys said. A mop of dark hair shadowed his eyes as he gingerly reached down to pick up his own bey. The little blonde boy at his side began nodding at the suggestion.

The final boy crossed his arms over his chest. "So what?" he questioned. Gingka turned his attention to the new voice and paused in his retort. Ifrit practically burst into flames at his hip; it took everything in his power not to yelp in alarm. The boy, noticing his hesitation, took advantage of the moment. " _You're_ not supposed to be here either, mister. Who're you to tell us what to do?"

After a bit of gaping, the Pegasus blader finally found his voice. "Well, I'm an adult," he proclaimed. "So there." He crossed his arms and nodded his head to emphasize the fact. He felt very grown up.

"No," the boy said angrily, his blue eyes fiery with passion, "you're being a hypo… hippo… hypocrat!"

Gingka nearly burst into laughter. "I believe you mean _hypocrite_ , kid."

"Well, I don't care _what_ you think. _I'm_ here to beyblade," the one called Lee declared. He set his beyblade into his launcher and aimed it at the eldest blader. "Battle me! I win, you leave us alone. You win, we go home!"

Gingka grinned. "I don't think you want to do that, kid. You don't know who you're dealing with," he warned as he pulled his own launcher from his belt.

"Three," the boy called.

With a sigh, Gingka called, "Two!"

"One! Let it Rip!"

Pegasus burst from its launcher and rushed for its opponent. Gingka frowned. Even launching at thirty percent power, Samurai Pegasus was still much more powerful than he would have liked for this situation. He needed to end this quickly.

"Pegasus! End this quickly!"

"Zurafa! Dodge it!"

The green colored bey ducked to the side, but Pegasus was much too fast. The blue beyblade rammed into its opponent. The thrill of victory quickly subsided as Gingka watched the final moments of the battle in slow motion.

The way Zurafa was moving before it made an attempt at escaping would have caused the bey to fly parallel to the wall once Pegasus hit it. However, because of the beyblade's change in direction, Pegasus hit Zurafa at an angle. Gingka could only watch in horror as the less powerful beyblade slammed into the canyon wall at full force.

He and the boys froze as first one crack, then multiple, raced up the rocks. Gingka could hear large pieces of boulder separating themselves from the main rock face and dashed forward.

"Watch out!" he screamed, pulling the closest boy behind him. His body moved instinctively, pushing his opponent and the third boy out of the way.

He could see the fourth boy, the one who had called him a hypocrite, staring up at the approaching rocks in frozen terror.

 _Not going to make it._

His hand stretched towards the boy.

 _Not going to make it._

Rocks began to fill his field of vision.

 _Not going to make it._

Sudden, solid warmth filled his arms. He pulled the warmth beneath his chest and crouched.

 _Made it_ , was his last thought as unrelenting stone crashed into his back.

* * *

 **Dun dun duuuuuuun!**

 **Evil of me, I know, but I'm actually updating this again soon anyway. It's really not that long of a wait. I think.**

 **As per usual, leave me a note in the comments with any questions and I'll get back to you as soon as possible!**

 **Ciao! - stormnml**


	2. Chapter 2

Zyro came back to consciousness with a guttural groan. He blinked his eyes open and blearily wondered if he was still unconscious - the world was pitch black and he was sandwiched between something warm and an uncomfortably hard surface.

His eyes wanted to close again.

 _Is my bed usually this hard?_ He sighed and reached up to pull at the warm mass pressing against his chest. _Kuro must have decided to use me as a pillow last night_ , he thought blearily.

He silently cursed when he realized that something was pressing on his right arm, keeping it from moving. "Kuro," he muttered, "you're not supposed to be on the bed. Mom's gonna freak." His left hand pushed at the mass above him. _Did Mom shave Kuro again?_ Rather than the shaggy fur he was expecting, soft flesh greeted his warm palms. He frowned. When his mother shaved Kuro, he usually felt much more fuzzy than this.

Zyro finally hit full awareness when he realized exactly what, or rather who, he was touching.

"Mister? Hey, Mister!" he called into the darkness. The rockslide, the beybattles, staring as the rocks tumbled down the walls - he remembered it all in brief bursts of memories.

The man on top of him shifted slightly and groaned. Zyro's spirits soared as the man above him finally returned to consciousness. He was a strong blader. He could get them out of here, he just knew it.

"Mister?"

Another groan answered him. The previously tense body of his savior began to relax again. Zyro internally panicked. His dad had always told him that people who were hurt badly should never go to sleep until they were checked out by a doctor - and now the guy above him was falling asleep!

"Mister! My dad says that people who get hurt shouldn't go to sleep," Zyro informed him. He paused and waited for acknowledgement. Receiving none, he continued, "So you can't go to sleep yet! Got it?"

He smiled when he got a groan in response. "Mister! You need to talk to me! What's your name?"

The man on top of him tensed. "Gingka."

He sighed in relief. The man was speaking. Good sign, right? "Okay, Mr. Gingka. Are you feeling hurt anywhere?"

"Not sure."

Zyro frowned. "That's not very helpful, Mr. Gingka."

"Yuki? You're supposed to be at the… observatory. Not the desert," Gingka mumbled.

"Mr. Gingka? There's no Yuki here," Zyro answered. "It's just me."

Gingka's chest rose and fell against his in quick, tense motions. Zyro's eyes widened as he felt his heartbeat steadily increase. "Kid! What happened?"

Zyro jerked at the sudden outburst. "Uh, there was a rockslide, and we got caught beneath the rocks," he murmured.

Gingka laid very still for a few tense moments. "Hey, kid, what's your name?" he finally asked.

"Zyro."

"Ok, Zyro. I need you to talk to me. Are you able to breathe?"

Gingka went through an entire checklist confirming that: yes, Zyro could breathe. No, he was not in any pain. Yes, his friends - who, thankfully, were not caught in the rocks - were going to get help. And that, yes, they were completely stuck.

"Zyro, how much can you move?" Gingka asked.

Zyro wriggled as much as he could. "Not much," he answered truthfully. The helplessness of their situation settled around him at the realization that neither he and Gingka could do much. _Lee and the others are coming with help_ , he assured himself. _I_ _know it!_

"Do you remember where my holster is?"

Zyro nodded.

"Alright. Do you think you can reach it?"

Zyro wriggled a little more and maneuvered his movable arm between his and Gingka's stomachs. He bit back a cry of pain when the movement jostled his right shoulder, but he moved past it. After a bit of fumbling, he finally felt a soft leather latch. Within moments, he had undone the clasp and brilliant red and orange beams of light illuminated their dark prison.

Above him, Gingka sighed.

Now that he could see better, Zyro's previous victory bubble was popped by the hopelessness of the situation. Rocks piled around them - it was a miracle this meager air pocket had even formed. Above Gingka's torso was a rocky ceiling. He and Gingka were lying on on top of the other, Gingka's arms wrapping the boy in an awkward hug. Zyro's right arm was spread out to the side and vanished out of his view. His left was clasping the top of Gingka's holster.

"Mr. Gingka," Zyro gasped when his eyes caught a glimpse of the glowing red beyblade in the older man's holster, "what _is_ that?"

"Samurai Ifrit."

He strained to look towards Gingka's face, but he could not move his head to that angle.

Zyro shifted uncomfortably; the rough ground was digging painfully into his back. "Why is it doing that? I mean, I've seen beyblades light up like that before - everyone who beyblades has seen Gingka Hagane and the Legendary Bladers compete - but I've never seen it in person before."

He heard something drop to the ground. From the muffled sigh, it seemed Gingka had dropped his head into the dirt. "It's reacting to _you_ , Zyro," he explained. "I've been looking for the right owner for Ifrit for a while now. It's trying to tell me that I've found it the right person." Zyro's concern outweighed his wonder at Gingka's slowly failing voice. "I just wish… it were under better circumstances."

Zyro's brain went into overdrive. He was falling asleep again! "Mr. Gingka! You can't fall asleep! You just can't!"

But his savior was already falling back into unconsciousness.

A crushing weight that was not Gingka's settled over him. "Please, Mr. Gingka, you can't leave me."

* * *

Left alone with only the glow of Ifrit to comfort him, Zyro struggled to keep his fear under control.

It was not his idea to come out here. That honor belonged to Lee. It was his idea, however, to have a beybattle. He had seen it so many times on the television. Kyoya Tategami and Gingka Hagane's battles in the wilderness were legendary - the two bladers had even blown up an _island_ at one point! If he and the others were going to become legendary bladers, he argued, then should they not train in dangerous places like them?

He slammed his head into the dirt and sighed. He should have listened to Gingka. No, he realized with shame, he should have listened to his _mother_. Maybe if he had, he would not be in this mess and Gingka would be off doing whatever it was he was doing.

He stared at the beyblade in the other blader's holster. At his glance, the light seemed to get brighter. Zyro reached out with his good arm and brushed his fingertips against Ifrit. The glowing top flared brighter and pulsed with warmth.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Zyro jerked his fingertips away from Gingka's holster; Ifrit's fire dimmed back into a soft glow. He turned his head in the direction of Gingka's voice - or attempted to, at least. "Mr. Gingka! You're awake!"

Gingka began to chuckle, but it came out as heavy wheezing. "Way to state the obvious, Zyro," he muttered between breaths. "And it's just Gingka. No need for the mister. I'm already trying to get one friend out of the habit, let's not make it two."

Gingka's throwaway statement piqued Zyro's interest. "What's your friend like, Mr. - I mean, Gingka? He sounds really formal."

"He's not so much formal as he is socially awkward. He didn't spend much time around kids his age when he was growing up." Zyro could hear the grin in Gingka's voice as he spoke. "Though he's not as bad as some of my other friends," Gingka continued thoughtfully. "Truthfully, I think we're all in need of some therapy. Good luck getting us there.

"But that's enough about me. You know a lot about medicine. Is one of your parents a doctor?" he asked.

Zyro blinked at the sudden subject change. "Uh, yeah. My dad - sort of, I guess. He's a para- para- paramedic in the city." He grinned. He always had trouble with that word, but he finally got it right.

Grinka hummed. "A paramedic, huh?" A sudden cough had him uncomfortably pressing against Zyro's chest. "He must save a lot of lives," he commented once the cough subsided.

"Yeah! He says he saves dozens every day! Mom says that he's over exag- exacerbating, though," Zyro said. He did not care what his mom said, he was proud of his dad!

"Exaggerating. Not exacerbating," Gingka corrected gently. "So, what's school like? Do you like it?"

Zyro knew Gingka could not see it, but he nodded anyway. "I really like school! My teacher is awesome, and I think math is really fun. My friends don't like it, though. They think it's too hard." He sighed. "I'm not very good at grammar or spelling - and I can't say hard words like everyone else can."

"I'm not good at anything," Gingka reassured him. "Well," he said after a brief pause, "I'm good at beyblading, but that's about it."

Zyro's eyes shifted to the other beyblade in Gingka's holster. "Gingka, you're really good at beyblading. You hit Lee's Zurafa with the power to start a rockslide!" His grin faded as he reminded himself, once again, that he was stuck in this stupid rock pile.

"Yeah," Gingka murmured, "right. That's…" He paused and took a deep breath. "So, this Lee guy comes up a lot. Is he your friend?"

Zyro, happy to get his mind off of the situation, launched into the first Lee story that came to mind. "So, there were these cookies, right? And Lee, he…"

Zyro talked non-stop until his voice gave out. Gingka had fallen asleep long before he got there.

* * *

 **I had planned to upload this what... four days ago? I promised a fast update and then I didn't deliver. Sorry.**

 **So yeah, this might end up being my last update for a while. My grandmother had a stroke on Sunday, so I've been in and out of the hospital for the past week - thankfully, this week was Columbus Day (which I got off), Senior Skip Day, _and_ I didn't have to come into school for the PSAT. Technically, this is my first day of school this week. Anyhow, I got this up as quickly as I did because it was almost complete. We'll see how everything does over the next week. I might be able to finish this by then.**

 **Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, leave a review and I'll answer the best I can!**

 **Ciao! - stormnml**


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